01 Trust
Three teams, three different revenue numbers.
Meetings start with an argument about whose figure is right, and end before anyone decides anything. Nobody trusts the data enough to act on it.
For start-ups and scale-ups
A head of data when you need one, not a salary you can't afford.
Senior help with data, analytics and AI, sized to your stage. Advice for the board, a part-time leader for the team, or a focused project to answer one big question. Better decisions, faster.
Board An independent, senior voice on data and AI
Fractional A part-time head of data, analytics and AI
Projects Fixed scope, a clear question and a defined outcome
Sound familiar?
Too early for a head of data. Too late to wing it.
Growing businesses reach a point where data shapes almost every decision, but a senior data leader is a large, permanent bet they aren't ready to make. The gap shows up in familiar ways.
02 Decisions
A dashboard for everything, a decision from none.
You have more reporting than ever, yet the big calls are still made on instinct. The data describes what happened; it rarely tells you what to do next.
03 AI
The board asks about AI. Nobody has a straight answer.
There is pressure to do something with AI, and no shortage of vendors offering to help. What is missing is an honest view of where it would pay off and what has to be true first.
04 Team
Your first data hire is drowning.
A capable analyst, buried in ad hoc requests, with nobody senior to set priorities, push back on the business or help them grow.
05 Hiring
You're about to hire, and not sure who.
A data scientist? An engineer? A head of data? Hiring the wrong first role is expensive, slow to unwind and surprisingly common.
06 Investors
Investors want numbers you can defend.
Fundraising and due diligence expose every inconsistency in your metrics. Unit economics, retention and growth need definitions that stand up to scrutiny.
Services
Three ways to bring in senior data leadership.
Each is sized for businesses that need expertise, not headcount. Start with whichever fits, and change shape as you grow.
01
Board advisor
An experienced, independent voice on data and AI for founders, boards and investors. Ask sharper questions, judge what you are being told and invest with confidence.
- Regular board or leadership sessions, with preparation and follow-up.
- Independent review of data, analytics and AI strategy, roadmaps and investment cases.
- Challenge on board reporting: are these the right KPIs, defined consistently, telling an honest story?
- An honest assessment of AI opportunities and risks, separating what is ready from what is hype.
Typical shapeA few hours a month on a retained basis, plus availability between meetings.
Explore board advisory
02
Fractional head of data, analytics & AI
Senior leadership for your data function, part-time. We set the strategy, build the foundations and lead the team, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
- A data, analytics and AI strategy tied to the company's commercial priorities, not a generic maturity model.
- A KPI framework and governed metric definitions: one version of the truth the whole business uses.
- Platform and tooling decisions: what to buy, what to build and what to leave for later.
- Leading, coaching and developing analysts and engineers, and setting the standards for their work.
Typical shapeUsually one or two days a week, on a rolling monthly basis, scaling down as your team grows.
Explore fractional leadership
03
Short-term strategic projects
A focused piece of work with a clear question, a fixed scope and a defined outcome. Ideal when you need an answer, not an ongoing commitment.
- Data maturity diagnostic: where you are, where the gaps are and a prioritised plan to close them.
- KPI tree and metric definitions: what drives the business, and how each team's numbers connect to it.
- Data stack review and selection: an independent recommendation, with no vendor commissions.
- AI readiness assessment: which use cases are worth pursuing, and what has to be true first.
Typical shapeFixed scope and a fixed fee, usually measured in weeks rather than months.
Explore strategic projects
How we work
Measured in decisions changed.
An analytics function earns its place when leaders trust it enough to act on it. We don't measure our work in dashboards shipped or reports delivered. We measure it by what the business does differently.
That means understanding how your business makes money, finding where it is leaking value and helping the people who decide make the best call possible, then building the team and foundations to keep doing it.
Start with the decision.
Before we measure, build or analyse anything, we ask what needs to change, who decides and what evidence would change their mind.
Good enough to decide.
The right amount of analysis is the amount that supports the decision in time. Knowing when to stop is a skill, not a compromise.
Commercial first, technical depth.
We start from how the business makes money, then bring enough technical depth to build foundations that last.
Build capability, not dependency.
Success is a business that no longer needs us: a stronger team, trusted foundations and more confident decision-makers.
Getting started
From first call to handover.
Simple, transparent and free to start. If we're not the right fit, or you don't need help yet, we'll say so.
- 1
A conversation
A no-obligation call to understand the business, the decisions that matter and where data is helping or getting in the way.
- 2
A clear proposal
We recommend the right shape of engagement, or tell you honestly if you don't need us yet. Scope, commitment and fee are agreed up front.
- 3
Work inside the business
We work alongside your leadership and your team, not from a distance. Progress is measured by decisions changed, not documents produced.
- 4
A proper handover
Everything is documented and owned by your people. When the time comes, we help you hire the permanent leader who takes it forward.
Point of view
What we believe about data in growing businesses.
Convictions earned inside ambitious, fast-moving and sometimes messy organisations. They shape every engagement.
01 A data team should be a decision engine, not a reporting service.
The most useful measure of an analytics function is not how many dashboards it ships. It is whether the business makes better decisions because that function exists. The test is simple: do conversations move from ‘what happened?’ to ‘what should we do next?’
That means understanding the decisions that matter, connecting evidence to commercial outcomes and giving analysts permission to challenge the question before answering it.
Data strategy · Operating models02 AI makes trusted foundations more valuable, not less.
Natural-language access to data can make answers dramatically faster to reach. But faster answers are only an advantage when definitions, permissions and underlying data are dependable.
The opportunity is not simply to add a chatbot to the warehouse. It is to combine governed metrics, good analytical judgement and thoughtful automation so more people can act with confidence.
AI in analytics · Semantic foundations03 You probably don't need a data scientist yet.
Early-stage businesses often reach for the most advanced role first. Usually the bigger win is simpler: a culture where people use data to answer questions, a few trusted metrics, and reliable pipelines bought rather than hand-built.
Hire analysts who understand the business before scientists who model it. Sequence the investment so each hire has the foundations they need to be useful from day one.
Team design · Hiring04 The right metric is often the one no single team owns.
Marketing can optimise acquisition cost while trading optimises gross margin, and the business can still lose money. Local targets do not automatically add up to a healthy commercial system.
Shared definitions, contribution economics and honest conversations about trade-offs turn competing functional incentives into a common view of performance.
Commercial analytics · Executive alignment05 Not all growth is equal.
A cheaper acquisition channel that brings in customers who leave after a month is not growth. Volume has to be weighed against customer quality, efficiency, retention and profitability.
For a young business with limited cash, getting this right is the difference between scaling something that works and scaling a leak.
Customer economics · GrowthWhy not just hire a head of data?
Eventually, you should. But a permanent senior hire is a large, slow and risky commitment, especially before you know exactly what the role needs to be. A fractional or advisory arrangement gives you senior judgement now, lays the foundations properly and makes the eventual hire far better informed.
How is this different from a traditional consultancy?
We don't arrive with a methodology to sell or a team of juniors to staff. We work inside the business, alongside your people, on the decisions that matter. The aim is to leave capability behind, not a slide deck, and to make ourselves unnecessary.
What size of business do you work with?
Start-ups and scale-ups, from the point where data starts to shape important decisions to the point where a full-time data leader makes sense. If you're not sure which side of that line you're on, that is a good first conversation.
Do you advise, or do the work?
Both. Strategy without delivery rarely changes anything, so we are hands-on enough to define the metrics, review the models, shape the analysis and coach the team, while keeping the senior view that connects it to the business.
Which tools and platforms do you work with?
We are independent and take no vendor commissions. We are comfortable across the modern data stack, including cloud data warehouses, dbt, semantic layers, BI and notebook tools and product analytics platforms. We recommend whatever fits your stage and budget, which is sometimes less than you expect.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the shape of the engagement. Board advisory and fractional leadership are agreed as a monthly retainer; strategic projects have a fixed fee. In every case it is a fraction of the cost of a full-time senior hire, and you get a clear quote after the first conversation.